Joy of getting back into small size T-shirt

Dubai: Do you want to lose 40kg? There is a way to shed all that weight and it has been proven. The secret is to eat healthy food and exercise. The perfect example of this is 47-year-old Mohammad Laghari.

It is not fun or healthy being overweight and Laghari experienced 18 years of it.

He weighed 113kg and his blood pressure was 160/90, when the normal range is 120/80, which led him to take medication.

Exhaustion was a normal feeling and it was to the extent that simple chores around the house used to tire him.

Laghari, a Pakistani national residing in Abu Dhabi, said: "When I was overweight I used to get tired easily when working as it would be too hectic for me. Now I do not feel any form of exhaustion."

Laghari changed his lifestyle in January 2010 when his health started deteriorating.

The multiple health examinations he underwent showed he was overweight and unhealthy.

Slower reflexes

Laghari, a civil engineer, played cricket for various clubs and on the national level in Pakistan. However, when he arrived in the UAE in 1991 his weight gain slowed down his reflexes.

Laghari said: "I used to take part in sports like cricket, squash and swimming but I was forced to stop when I gained all this weight."

While playing squash, Laghari's knees began to hurt and he was not able to stretch his body. There were times when he could not even finish a match. This is when the change started.

Laghari said: "I realised that enough is enough. I had to lose the weight or I would end up having major health problems." Laghari started by controlling his diet and included exercise as part of his daily schedule. His day started with a banana at 9am for breakfast. During working hours the only thing Laghari had was tea and coffee, and even that did not contain any sugar.

He said: "The first few days were terrible, but after a while my appetite decreased and I did not notice that I was eating a lot less than usual." After returning home from work at 7.30pm Laghari would eat half a kilogram of watermelon and head to the gym.

His workout included an hour of warm up exercises and aerobics, jogging for 10km on the treadmill and cycling for 30km.

That was followed by two oranges, a banana and half a kilogram of either watermelon or pineapple.

He increased the workout every day and refused to take any supplements or medicine.

Big change

He said: "I began to notice a big change in myself and that motivated me to continue my diet and workout."

Laghari finally gave himself a break after eight months and allowed himself to have a proper lunch every Friday.

After losing 30kg, Laghari reduced his exercise — instead of doing all three workouts, he does half an hour of aerobics and alternates between jogging and cycling. His blood pressure is now 105/60 and his waist size was reduced from 42 inches to 29 inches.

Many of Laghari's friends and colleagues were inspired by his results. So much so that they started following his routine.

One person in particular who has gained from this is his son Mohammad.

Laghari said: "He has been following the same routine for the past three months and has lost around 15kg."

After nearly two decades of struggling with his weight, Laghari had beaten obesity. "It was one of the happiest moments of my life when I was able to fit into a size ‘small' T-shirt. It was a sign that I had accomplished my goal."